William Elam Tanner

Last updated
William Elam Tanner
William Elam Tanner.jpg
Member of the Virginia Senate
from the Virginia's 7th Senate district district
In office
1874–1877
Personal details
Born
William Elam Tanner

(1836-03-13)March 13, 1836
Buckingham County, Virginia, U.S.
DiedAugust 6, 1898(1898-08-06) (aged 62)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Resting place Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia
Political party Democratic
SpouseMary Mildred Mallory
ChildrenCharles Wortham
Helen Lauren
Harriet Maxwell
William E.
Mildred Lee
John Francis
Albert Snead
Walter Stuart
Alma mater University of Virginia
Richmond College
Military service
Allegiance Flag of the Confederate States of America (1865).svg Confederate States of America
Branch/serviceBattle flag of the Confederate States of America.svg  Confederate States Army
Years of service1861–1865
Rank Confederate States of America Lieutenant Colonel.png Lieutenant Colonel
Unit 6th Virginia Infantry
2nd Virginia Infantry
Battles/wars Battle of New Market Heights

William Elam Tanner (March 13, 1836, Buckingham County, Virginia - August 6, 1898, Richmond, Virginia) was a Virginia State Senator, a Lieutenant Colonel, and businessman.

Contents

Early life

Named after his late grandfather, [1] Tanner was born to John F. and Harriet L. Tanner, in Buckingham County. John worked with Joseph Reid Anderson and Anderson's father-in-law, Dr. Richard S. Archer, to form J. R. Anderson and Company. They produced iron for the Louisiana sugar mills. The company formed into the Tredegar Iron Works Company by 1841. [2] John secured a job for his son at the iron company.

Civil War

Tanner was employed as a bookkeeper for the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond. [3] Tanner was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Letcher Artillery in 1862. After his service in 6th Virginia Infantry, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the 2nd Virginia Infantry. On September 29–30, 1864, Tanner fought at Battle of New Market Heights as part of the Siege of Petersburg.

Tanner and Delaney

Col. W. E. Tanner was the head and manager of iron manufacturer companies. He dedicated his life to the iron works field. [4] In 1867, Tanner & Delaney was founded at the junction of Canal Street and Seventh street. It was said that every Virginian had a pride for Richmond. Tanner used the Second Industrial Revolution to recover the war-torn city. They relocated on twelve acres of land on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Tanner & Delaney became one of the largest and well-equipped American Engine-works. The company was in the form of a hollow square with three sides accompanied with running water, lakes, shrubbery, and flowers. The summit of a one-hundred foot tower contained a tank of 25,000 gallons of water. A waterhose was available to put out flames. The brick buildings were of a stylish design. The "Staunton Spectator" claimed that the secret behind the success of Tanner and Delaney was Tanner's "talents, sagacity, and fine business qualifications." It was said that his traits were showcased in all aspects of the bold and successful enterprise. The newspaper closed with, "Richmond may well be proud of such a son." [5] A factory was set up in the Shockoe Warehouse on 13th Street in 1868, in the building formerly occupied by sword manufacturers, Edwin Boyle and Thomas Gamble. The manufacturer was prepared to manufacture and supply at short notice, and of high quality, sash, blinds, doors, and moldings of every pattern. [6]

Virginia State Senate

As the Reconstruction Era dwindled, Radical Republicans, carpetbaggers, and ex-War Democrats lost their influence to Southern Democrats. Tanner managed to become an alderman by 1874. [7] Tanner and Bradley Tyler Johnson ran for the historic 7th Senate District (Richmond and Henrico) [8] in 1875. Both men were critics of the postwar policies; however, they still attempted to gain the vote of African-American Republicans. Johnson and Tanner gained support with white Redeemers and initially the Readjuster Party. It appeared that the Democrats would win the black vote. Two Independents, however, wanted to retain the postwar policies. William Carter Knight and Patrick Henry Starke declared their candidacy on the Sunday before Election Day. Knight and Starke were essentially Republicans. They could not call themselves "Republicans" and win white ex-Confederates. Johnson organized campaign groups of African-Americans "at very considerable expense." These were nicknamed "Johnson clubs." After the Democrats lost the black vote, they claimed their opponents engaged in electoral fraud. Knight and Starke supporters allegedly paid $15 to $50 to African-American voters. [9] All African-Americans abandoned Tanner and Johnson to vote for Knight and Starke. The Democrats still defeated the Independent candidates. [10] [11]

As Senator, Tanner visited Washington, D.C. in February, 1876. He attended the seventh annual ball of Columbia Commandery with the Knights Templar. [12] Tanner was disgraced in 1878 after his prosecution, alongside T. C. Wilkinson and John Enders Robinson, after they unnecessarily left on their waterhose at their residence. [13]

Contribution to the arts

In 1879, Tanner and his wife traveled from Richmond to see the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston. [14] Tanner was referred as "one of our most critical lovers of good music." He bought a Knabe full concert grand piano with the finishings from Ramos and Moses. [15]

Freemasonry

Tanner's association with freemasonry dated back at least to the Civil War. When the Union Army reached an abandoned and burning Richmond in 1865, the city was conquered by looters, vandals, and mobsters. Mason's Hall was threatened with destruction by the angry mobs. An unnamed colonel and Fraternity member found emblems over the door of the hall. He halted his army in order to save the hall from the criminals. Tanner, Past Master of No. 10, was ordered to gather a meeting at the Lodge. The general and their Masonic comrades gathered. Tanner persuaded the Unionists agreed to assist widows and orphans of Confederate Masons. The mob violence decreased, and Tanner was credited as the peacemaker between the opposing parties. [16]

Tanner became prominently associated with the Masonic organizations of Richmond. He most closely aligned himself with the Grand Bodies of the State. Tanner's masonic connections were spread nationally, particularly in Providence and Boston. [17]

Education

Tanner became an advocate for higher education. In 1883, the University of Virginia introduced the Tanner medal. The medal was awarded by Greek language professors to their best graduate students. Tanner donated $250 to the university to yield $15 a year. He dedicated the medal to his late parents, whom both died earlier in the decade. The Tanner medal was in the shape of a Grecian helmet inscribed with the figure of Athena presenting a crown and the legend. [18] Tanner corresponded with William B. Taliaferro late in the year. Taliaferro similarly was a war veteran whom joined the board of the College of William and Mary and the Virginia Military Institute. [19] By 1884, Tanner secured a position as a trustee at Richmond College (Virginia). [20]

Richmond Locomotive Works

Tanner also founded the Richmond Locomotive Works in 1887. Tanner's company grew from Tredegar Iron Works to advance to a well-known manufacturer of steam locomotive engines. [21] Tanner had been appointed special agent for the Tredegar company in early 1887. He used his new position to embark on his new company. [22] His decision to start the locomotive works brought Richmond out of her tumultuous past.

Minnesota Car Company

In 1888, Tanner moved from Richmond to New York City for business in the railroad supply business. He did not stay a year in New York. Tanner moved to Duluth to work at the Minnesota Iron-Car Company. J. F. S. Anderson was president of the Minnesota Car Company; G. H. White was the superintendent and Tanner was the Vice President. [23] Tanner purchased 2,000 tons of iron in St. Paul and Minneapolis in October, 1888. [24]

The Burton Electric Company

Tanner was in Duluth, but his interests remained in Richmond. By 1888, Tanner was President of The Burton Electric Company. The company pioneered commodities, such as electric light, electric heating, and electric power. The Duluth Evening Herald noted that Tanner's electric company had effectively invented such heating for the railroad car. The company had even demonstrated their product on the Richmond cars. The company would conduct further and more exhaustive tests on the cars of the Northwest. Eickemeyer dynamo will be located in the baggage car and be driven by an engine with steam from the boiler of the locomotive. This operation was conducted on Pullman vestibule trains for one-third of a year. The acquisition of the appropriate current heaters is claimed to be solved. The dynamo to be will have such a capacity that there will be a surplus of current.

Later life

Tanner was not completely comfortable in Michigan. He was a man of the South and longed to return to his old state. In November, 1889, Col. Tanner visited Richmond and other Eastern cities. [25]

Tanner returned to Richmond in 1892 to participate in the unveiling of the A. P. Hill monument in the Hermitage Road Historic District. It was said that he was one of many aids who wore red sashes. He marched with Virginian veterans, such as Henry Heth and William Henry Palmer. [26]

Personal life

Tanner married Mary Mildred Mallory. They had their first son, Charles Wortham, in 1858. Their first daughter, Helen Lauren, was born in 1862. Tanner's next child, Harriet Maxwell, was born in 1866. They had another child, William E., in 1868. Tanner's next child, Mildred Lee, was born in 1870. He had another son, John Francis, in 1871. Tanner's next son, Albert Snead, was born in 1874. His final child, Walter Stuart, was born in 1877. Mary Mildred died in 1892.

Death

Tanner suddenly died on August 6, 1898. [27] [28] He was laid to rest in a family burial plot at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. It was inscribed in his tombstone, "He has moved a little nearer to the master of all music!"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank J. Sprague</span> American inventor and pioneer in electrical engineering (1857-1934)

Frank Julian Sprague was an American inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. His contributions were especially important in promoting urban development by increasing the size cities could reasonably attain and by allowing greater concentration of business in commercial sections. He became known as the "father of electric traction". Demonstrating an aptitude for science and mathematics, Sprague secured an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1874 and, after graduation in 1878 and 2 years at sea, resigned to pursue his career in electrical engineering.

<i>William Crooks</i> (locomotive)

The William Crooks is a 4-4-0 steam locomotive that was the first locomotive to operate in the State of Minnesota, beginning in 1861. It was named after William Crooks, the Chief Mechanical Engineer for the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. He served as a colonel and commander of the 6th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. Crooks laid the initial 10-mile (16 km) track between Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the William Crooks was the first locomotive to run on the line.

Brush Traction was a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England whose operations have now been merged into the Wabtec company's Doncaster UK operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tredegar Iron Works</span> United States historic place

The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, was the biggest ironworks in the Confederacy during the American Civil War, and a significant factor in the decision to make Richmond its capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond and Danville Railroad</span>

The Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) Company was a railroad that operated independently from 1847 until 1894, first in the U.S. state of Virginia, and later on 3,300 miles (5,300 km) of track in nine states.

A 2-8-8-2, in the Whyte notation for describing steam locomotive wheel arrangements, is an articulated locomotive with a two-wheel leading truck, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a two-wheel trailing truck. The equivalent UIC classification is, refined to Mallet locomotives, (1'D)D1'. These locomotives usually employ the Mallet principles of articulation—with the rear engine rigidly attached to the boiler and the front engine free to rotate—and compounding. The 2-8-8-2 was a design largely limited to American locomotive builders. The last 2-8-8-2 was retired in 1962 from the N&W's roster, two years past the ending of steam though steam was still used on steel mill lines and other railroads until 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph R. Anderson</span>

Joseph Reid Anderson was an American civil engineer, industrialist, politician and soldier. During the American Civil War he served as a Confederate general, and his Tredegar Iron Company was a major source of munitions and ordnance for the Confederate States Army. Starting with a small forge and rolling mill in the mid-1830s, It was a flourishing operation by 1843 when he leased it. He eventually bought the company outright in 1848 and forcefully and aggressively built Tredegar Iron Works into the South's largest and most significant iron works. When the Civil War broke out he entered the Army as a brigadier general in 1861. Shortly after he was wounded and then resigned from the Army returning to the iron works. It was the Confederacy's major source of cannons and munitions, employing some 900 workers, most of whom were slaves. His plant was confiscated by the Union army at the end of the war, but returned to him in 1867 and he remained president until his death. Anderson was very active in local civic and political affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Civil War Museum</span> History museum in Appomattox, Virginia

The American Civil War Museum is a multi-site museum in the Greater Richmond Region of central Virginia, dedicated to the history of the American Civil War. The museum operates three sites: The White House of the Confederacy, American Civil War Museum at Historic Tredegar in Richmond, and American Civil War Museum at Appomattox. It maintains a comprehensive collection of artifacts, manuscripts, Confederate books and pamphlets, and photographs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Central Railroad</span> Railroad in Virginia

The Virginia Central Railroad was an early railroad in the U.S. state of Virginia that operated between 1850 and 1868 from Richmond westward for 206 miles (332 km) to Covington. Chartered in 1836 as the Louisa Railroad by the Virginia General Assembly, the railroad began near the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad's line and expanded westward to Orange County, reaching Gordonsville by 1840. In 1849, the Blue Ridge Railroad was chartered to construct a line over the Blue Ridge Mountains for the Louisa Railroad which reached the base of the Blue Ridge in 1852. After a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Louisa Railroad was allowed to expand eastward from a point near Doswell to Richmond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John D. Imboden</span> American politician

John Daniel Imboden, American lawyer, Virginia state legislator, and a Confederate army general. During the American Civil War, he commanded an irregular cavalry force. After the war, he resumed practicing law, became a writer, and was active in land development founding the town of Damascus, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Superior Railroad Museum</span> Railroad museum in Duluth, Minnesota

The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is a railroad museum in Duluth, Minnesota, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Locomotive Works</span>

Richmond Locomotive Works was a steam locomotive manufacturing firm located in Richmond, Virginia.

Dick, Kerr and Company was a locomotive and tramcar manufacturer based in Kilmarnock, Scotland and Preston, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zerah Colburn (locomotive designer)</span> American engineer, journalist and publisher

Zerah Colburn was an American publisher and engineer specialising in steam locomotive design, technical journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GE 45-ton switcher</span> 4-axle diesel locomotive

The GE 45-ton switcher is a 4-axle diesel locomotive built by General Electric between 1940 and 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradley Tyler Johnson</span> Confederate Army general (1829-1903)

Bradley Tyler Johnson was an American lawyer, soldier, and writer. Although his home state of Maryland remained in the Union during the American Civil War, it was still considered a Southern state and Confederate sympathies were common, and Johnson served as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army, leading efforts to raise a Maryland Line in the CSA, and rising to command the 1st Maryland Infantry, CSA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William E. Starke</span> Confederate Army general

William Edwin Starke was a wealthy Gulf Coast businessman and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was killed in action at the Battle of Antietam while commanding the famed "Stonewall Division," a unit first made famous under Stonewall Jackson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Locomotive and Machine Works</span> United States historic place

Richmond Locomotive and Machine Works, also known as the American Locomotive Company, Richmond Works, consists of two historic buildings located in Richmond, Virginia. They are an Iron Foundry, in use by 1887 and expanded in 1917, and a Brass Foundry, constructed in 1922. Both structures are steel framed, and clad in brick. The Iron Foundry building is approximately 100 feet wide by 480 feet long. The Brass Foundry building measures approximately 160 feet by 50 feet. The Richmond Locomotive & Machine Works grew out of Tredegar Iron Works to become a nationally known manufacturer of steam locomotive engines and an integral part of the industrial landscape of the Three Corners District in Richmond.

The Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway (DM&N) was a railroad company in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was one of the earliest iron ore hauling railroads of the area, said to have built the largest iron ore docks in the world, and later was one of the constituent railroads in the merger that formed the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway.

References

  1. ↑ "TANNER-L Archives." Ancestry. August 2000. September 2017. http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/the/read/TANNER/2000-08/0966814447
  2. ↑ Kischnoff, Charles (November 3, 1892). Iron Works, Volume 50. New York City: David Williams.
  3. ↑ Atwell, Edwin (1886). The Railway Age. Chicago: The Railway Age Publishing Company.
  4. ↑ Atwell, Edwin (1886). The Railway Age. Chicago: The Railway Age Publishing Company.
  5. ↑ "Staunton Spectator". Staunton. February 25, 1885.
  6. ↑ " WILLIAM E. TANNER. Daily Dispatch. [Richmond]. 17 March. 1868.
  7. ↑ "Petersburg Index And Appeal Newspaper Archives." Newspaper Archive. May. 1874. Accessed 14 September. 2017.
  8. ↑ Virginia General Assembly Senate. (1877). Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Richmond: R. F. Walker.
  9. ↑ Morton, Richard L. (1924). History of Virginia Volume III Virginia Since 1861. New York, Chicago: The American Historical Society.
  10. ↑ Earnest, Jr., Joseph Brummell (1914). The Religious Development of the Negro in Virginia. Charlottesville: The Michie Co.
  11. ↑ Royall, William Lawrence (1897). History of the Virginia Debt Controversy, or The Negro's Vicious Influence in Politics. Richmond: George M. West.
  12. ↑ "Local Matters". Richmond: Daily Dispatch, Volume 49, No. 44. February 21, 1876.
  13. ↑ "Police Court Yesterday." Daily Dispatch. [Richmond] 23 July 1878
  14. ↑ Smith, Dexter (1879). Musical Record and Review. Boston: Oliver Ditson and Company.
  15. ↑ "Richmond Trade Notes". Musical and Dramatic Courier. New York City: Blumenberg & Floersheim. 1881.
  16. ↑ Callahan, Charles Hilliard (1915). Washington: The Man and the Mason. Washington, D.C.: Press of Gibson Bros.
  17. ↑ Rugg, Henry W. (1888). The Freemasons' Repository. Volume 17. Providence: E. L. Freeman and Son.
  18. ↑ Adams, Henry Baxter (1888). Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia, Issues 1-3. Washington: Government Printing Office.
  19. ↑ Johnson, Anne and Tom Scott. "William Booth Taliaferro Papers, 1811-1954." The College of William and Mary. Feb. 2013. Accessed 17 September. 2017. http://scdb.swem.wm.edu/?p=collections/findingaid&id=7066
  20. ↑ Richmond of Virginia (1885). Catalogue of Richmond College, Richmond, Virginia, Session of 1884-85, with a Historical Sketch to its Foundation in 1832 to Present. Richmond: Wm. Ellis Jones, Steam Book, and Job Printer.
  21. ↑ U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Richmond Locomotive and Machine Works, March 15, 2007
  22. ↑ "CITY ITEMS." The Times. [Richmond] 4 March. 1887. Page 4
  23. ↑ Sinclair, Angus (1889). National Car and Locomotive Builder, Volume 19, 20. New York City: Morse Building.
  24. ↑ "Duluth Evening Herald". Duluth. October 14, 1888.
  25. ↑ "Duluth Evening Herald". Duluth. November 18, 1889.
  26. ↑ Jones, John Williams (1892). Southern Historical Society Papers. Robert Alonzo Brock. Richmond: Southern Historical Society.
  27. ↑ Christian, William Asbury (1912). Richmond: Her Past and Present. Richmond: L. H. Jenkins. ISBN   9780722246535.
  28. ↑ "SUDDEN DEATH OF COL. W. E. TANNER." The Times. [Richmond] 7 Aug. 1898.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.